Part of the Global Plot to Expose Moonbats, conspiracy nuts, and anti-Semites, especially the Jewish anti-Semitic variety.
The leftwing Neo-Nazi web magazine Counterpunch has described Plaut thus: "One of the most pernicious writers is Steven Plaut, a man who could be thought of as Israel's Daniel Pipes."

Thursday, April 05, 2012

The Reform Synagogue's Fascists and Book Burners

1. I have never made a secret of the fact that I feel a lot ofdisdain for the "Reform" synagogue movement. It is not because ReformJews do not observe much Jewish ritual. It is none of my business howmuch ritual other Jews observe and I never preach to others abouttheir own observance or lack thereof. I think it is my job toendeavor to keep more commandments in a better way, while what YOU dois your decision and concern.

The problem is that if the Reform movement was ever an actual branchof Judaism, and I doubt that it ever was, it has long sincedeteriorated into little more than a politicized movement of faddyliberalism, where political liberalism replaces Judaism as thepseudo-theology of the Reform Jews. Reform "rabbis" spend their"sermons" preaching trendy liberal causes. The "Religious ActionCenter" of the Reform movement serves as political spokes-organ forthe movement and is nothing more than a lobby group for far-leftistcauses. It is well to the Left of the Democrat Party.

Reform Jews invariably support and vote for the political candidateswho are furthest Left, no matter how anti-Israel they might be. Moststill regard Obama as their secular messiah. Some Reform "leaders"are active in anti-Israel NGOs and smear campaigns, including theboycott/divestment economic warfare against Israel. Reform "theology"is shallow and insulting to the intellect. Secular Jews who do notwish to observe Judaism are free not to do so, but why invent apseudo-religion to sanctify their own indifference or laziness?

Most Israelis, including most secular Israelis, consider the Reformmovement in Israel (a small one does exist) as a goofy movementdivorced from Israeli reality. In fact, few secularists regard theReform institutions in Israel as legitimate manifestations of Judaism. In no small degree, that is because they really are NOT legitimatemanifestations of Judaism.

Like in the US, the Reform movement in Israel is highly politicizedand highly active and self-conscripted in promoting the politicalagenda of the Left. This goes well beyond mere Orthodox bashing.Like in the US, the Israeli Reformies are obsessed with gay"marriage," and in fact this is probably the most unambiguous definingissue for the entire Reform movement today. (Remember the USReformies bad-mouthing the boy scouts for not having gay scoutleaders?). The Reformies in Israel also tend to leap onto all otherpassing political bandwagons of the Left, regarding everything fromradical feminism to radical environmentalism. The Reform movementbelieves that the best way for Judaism to survive is to redefine it aspolitical liberalism. The fact that no one needs to be Jewish orremain Jewish in order to be a liberal is just one of those things theReformie leaders have never gotten around to contemplating.

Well, now the Israeli Reform movement has gone beyond liberalgoofiness and has joined in the wave of leftist fascism that isseeking to suppress freedom of speech in Israel. Yes, the Reformmovement has joined Israel's leftwing book burners.

The Israeli Reform movement joined the Supreme Court petition thisweek submitted by Far Leftists demanding that the authors of thecontroversial book "The Teachings of the King" be arrested and theirbooks burned. The Left (and some non-leftists) regard the book as"racist." Suppose that it is. The Reformies are demanding thatfreedom of speech be denied to those it regards as "racist." (Itnever had a word to say about the denial of freedom of speech inIsrael for the Kahanists. It has also never demanded that any Arabsand Leftwing anti-Semites be prosecuted and suppressed because theyare racists.) The petition by the Reformies also demands that anyonewho recommends that others read the book in question should beindicted. So Rabbis and others who recommend that people read thebook, even if the person making the recommendation does not agree withthe book's contents, should also be persecuted and denied freedom ofspeech. This is the Reform movement's idea of pluralism and tolerancein a democracy.

I confess I have not read the book but I recommend that YOU read it,and anyone who does not like the fact that I recommended it can comeand arrest me right now before I exhaust myself in Passover cleaning!When democracy is suppressed in a country, the only proper place forhonest men is in prison! Certainly NOT in the Reform synagoguemovement.

The Brain Dead Israeli LeftPosted By Daniel Greenfield On April 5, 2012The Israeli left is dead. It's politically dead, conceptually dead andbrain dead. But like the fabled Norwegian blue parrot, there is anindustry dedicated to assuring us that it's still alive and well, justpining for the peace process.The left in Israel is one of the few in the world to exist on foreignsubsidies. Without generous funds from the European Union, the StateDepartment, George Soros and assorted members of the Shadow Party, thelast remnants of the Israeli left would have packed up theirsuitcases, their degrees in art philosophy and their framed photos ofAmos Oz and Leon Trotsky and moved to Paris or San Francisco.Israelis are about as eager to vote for the left as chickens are tosaunter into a KFC restaurant. Israel's equivalent of the DemocraticParty, the once dominant Labor Party has shrunk to being only thefifth largest party in the country. Meretz, the Israeli equivalent ofthe Green Party, the vanguard of the left, has three seats in theKnesset, the Israeli parliament. Only the Arab parties seem to bedoing well, led by Hadash, the Arab Communist Party, where Israelileftists who think Meretz is too moderate go.And just to remind Israelis of why they left the left behind, a fewhundred left-wing activists gathered in front of the Habima Theater inTel Aviv to protest against any strike on Iran. The old slogan of theleft, "An entire generation demands peace" had given way to signsreading, "The nation demands Iranian friends", which sounded more likea nursery school slogan. Equally idiotic signs read, "Social justicedoes not equal war with Iran" and "No to pre-emptive suicide".The entire event was a cliché complete with red banners, coloredscarves and dopey participants who seemed to have no knowledgewhatsoever of the world outside Tel Aviv. A number of protesters urgednegotiations with Iran, apparently unaware that Iran does notrecognize Israel as a country, making any negotiations impossible.Iran's Islamic leaders have repeatedly called for Israel to be wipedoff the map, which is not the behavior of a regime interested innegotiating anything.The rally followed the even more ridiculous, "Israel Loves Iran"Facebook campaign which combined the grandiosity of social media withthe empty mindless sentimentality which has characterized the rhetoricof the Israeli peace camp."Iranians We Will Never Bomb Your Country: We Love You", read postersthat looked like they were designed by teenage girls. There are photosof narcissistic young couples staring into the camera, Israeliskissing Iranians, Iranians kissing Israelis, Israeli hippies kissingother Israeli hippies and bored Europeans looking to fill a vacuumafter the Arab Spring trying to join in the fun."Israel Loves Iran" turned out to be the perfect campaign for thosetoo lazy to stand in front of the Habima Theater for an hour holdingup a hand-lettered sign and made for excellent headlines. News storiesreported on the 50,000 likes for the Facebook group, a small numbereven in a country as small as Israel, and much of the activity on thegroup appears to consist of German and Spanish language posters.The Iranian responses have been more discreet. The star of a videotitled "Iran Loves Israel" has his face covered reminding the moresensible participants of the futility of the whole affair. Iraniansgenerally do not hate Israel, but they have no say in theirgovernment's policy. After Ahmadinejad's victory, it's clear that theydon't have a choice in any element of their government.The Israeli participants represent an even more marginal group thatdespite all the banners and signs reading, "The Nation" and "ThePeople" hardly represent anyone at all. Haaretz, the lead organ of theleft, was forced to concede that only a few hundred people hadbothered to come in person to the rally. The Facebook campaigners haveas little influence over their government as the Iranians do overtheirs, but the reasons for that are different. The Iranian regime isnot open or democratic. Israel is. The Iranian protesters mayrepresent the popular voice, the Israeli protesters most certainly donot.The best rebuttal to both sides comes from the Supreme Leader of Iran,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said four years ago, "It is incorrect,irrational, pointless and nonsense to say that we are friends ofIsraeli people… Who are Israelis… They are combatants at the disposalof Zionist operatives. A Muslim nation cannot remain indifferentvis-a-vis such people who are stooges at the service of the arch-foesof the Muslim world."After the stolen election and the consolidation of power, Iran'snuclear bomb will be in the hands of the Supreme Leader. AyatollahKhamenei will decide what to do with the weapon and he has alreadystated that, "We are on a collision course with the occupiers ofPalestine."That collision course does not depend on Israeli action, it depends onIsraeli inaction. Iran does not need Israel to attack it in order tojustify an attack. The attack has already been justified countlesstimes by the regime and by Islamic theologians. The only thing missingis the weapon that can finish the job and that is what Iran's nuclearprogram is there for.On Shimon Peres' 80th birthday, Bill Clinton stopped by to serenadethe godfather of peaceniks with a round of John Lennon's Imagine. Butyet even Peres delivered a speech recently in which he said, "A peacethat is a dream for both of us, is a nightmare for the Ayatollahs inIran. Iran is an evil, cruel, morally corrupt regime. It is based ondestruction and is an affront to human dignity. Iran is the center.The sponsor. The financer of world terror. Iran is a danger to theentire world."Those simple ideas still escapes much of the Israeli left whichinsists on playing red-shirted Eloi, weaving flowers in their hair andpretending that hating their country and loving their enemies willmake everything right.But if Israel truly loves Iran then it will take out its nuclearprogram. Preventing the Ayatollahs from gaining nuclear capabilitywill save millions of lives on both sides that would otherwise be lostin a nuclear exchange. The truest form of love for the people of Iranwill be to save them from that fate so that the people of Tehran andTel Aviv, including the red shirted sheep grazing around the HabimaTheater will be able to go on living their lives.

3. I think the entire Middle East conflict and debate overalternative policy choices for Israel can be summed up in thefollowing manner, in a way that even a Leftist can comprehend:

The only thing more harmful and damaging to Israel and theJewish nation than "occupation" is the removal of "occupation."

4. Gunter Grass is a fashionable literary figure from the worstnation of murderers the world has ever known. He served as a WaffenSS Panzer soldier during his country's protest against Jewishoccupation. Best recognized for his Hitler moustache, he later becamea semi-communist. He is so anti-Semitic that he even was awarded aNobel Prize in Literature (often a prerequisite for that prize).